1. Why did God make me?
God made me to know, love and serve Him in this world so that I might share in His happiness in heaven.
2. Can I, just by being a human being, enjoy the happiness of God?
No, I cannot enjoy the happiness which God Himself enjoys if I remain just a human being.
3. What is needed to share in the happiness of another?
To share in the happiness of another it is necessary to have the same kind of life.
For example, a dog cannot share in the happiness of man, such as enjoying a book or a movie, if the dog remains a mere dog. The reason is that man’s life is a higher kind of life than a dog’s. God would first have to raise that dog up to man’s level by giving the dog a sharing in man’s life. Then the dog would have the power to share in the happiness that a man enjoys.
4. Does God have life? Yes, God has life, since all other kinds of life come from Him.
“All things were made through Him, and without Him was made nothing that was made. In: Him was LIFE” (John 1:3, 4).
5. Does God have the same kind of life as man?
No, God has a much higher kind of life than man.
6. How is God’s life a higher kind of life than that of man?
God has a much higher kind of life than man because
1) God’s life is unlimited; man’s life is limited
2) God’s life had no beginning; man’s life begins in his mother’s womb
3) God’s life depends on nothing outside of Himself; man’s life depends entirely on God.
“For in Him we live, and move and are” (Acts 17:28).
7. What, then, is needed to share in the happiness of God?
In order to share in the happiness of God, God must first raise me up to His own level by giving me a sharing in His life.
“He hath given us great and precious promises: that by these you may be made partakers of the divine nature” (2nd Peter (1:4).
8. What is grace?
Grace is a sharing in the life of God, which raises me up to God’s level and gives me the power to share in His happiness in heaven.
“The grace of God, LIFE everlasting” (Romans 6:23).
“Behold what manner of charity the Father bath bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be the sons of God (1st John 3:1).
9. Can I get into heaven without grace? No, it is absolutely impossible to live in heaven without grace.
The story of the man who entered the king’s banquet hall without wearing a wedding garment shows that it is necessary to have grace to get into heaven. When the king (God) saw the man at the table without a wedding garment (grace) He called His servants (the angels) to throw the man into the darkness outside (hell.) See Matthew 22:1-13).
10. Does anyone have grace in his soul when he is created? No, all human beings are created without grace.
“All have sinned and need the power (grace) of God” (Romans 3:23).
The only human being whose soul had grace in it when God created it was the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus. See Question 10, Lesson 9, page 25.
11. How can I get grace in my soul?
Baptism puts grace in my soul for the first time.
“Unless a man be born again (receive grace), he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).
12. Once I have grace, can I make it grow in my soul?
Yes, I can make the grace grow in my soul, mostly by receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus in Holy Communion; by receiving the other Sacraments, and by prayer and good works.
“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2nd Peter 3:18).
“He that eats my Flesh and drinks My Blood hath everlasting LIFE” (John 6:55).
13. Can I lose the grace in my soul?
Yes, I can lose the grace in my soul by committing a big sin, such as adultery, missing Mass on Sunday, eating meat on Friday. (See Lesson on Sin, page 27 to 30, Lesson 10.)
“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
“Sin begetteth death” (James 1:15).
14. Does a big sin kill the human life of the soul? No, a big sin kills only the grace in the soul.
Grace is a NEW kind of life that is ADDED to the soul. So, a soul with grace in it has two kinds of life: human life and the sharing in God’s life. Nothing can kill the human life of the soul.
15. Can I see or feel grace in my soul?
No, I cannot see or feel grace in my soul, because grace is completely spiritual.
It is impossible to experience something spiritual, such as grace, my soul or an angel, with the five senses of the body.
God can, but ordinarily does not, produce phenomena to indicate the presence of something spiritual, as in the case of angels appearing to human beings.
16. Does a religious feeling indicate the presence of grace in the soul?
No, a religious feeling does not necessarily indicate the presence of grace in the soul, nor does the absence of such a feeling indicate the absence of grace.
A person, for example, who is being baptized and has the right intention, may never have a religious feeling or experience. Yet he can be morally certain from the promise of Christ that Baptism is putting grace in his soul.
17. Does grace make me the same as God?
Grace does not make me the same as God but like to God.
Even with grace in my soul, I still stay a member of the human race. Grace only gives me the power to live God’s life in heaven; it makes me LIKE God only in that way. God is Uncreated life. Grace is the CREATED sharing in His Life.
18. Where does a baby go who dies without being baptized?
A baby who dies without Baptism goes to a place called Limbo.
19. Will the babies in Limbo ever go to heaven?
As far as is known, the babies in Limbo will never go to heaven because they died without grace in their souls.
“Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he CANNOT enter into the Kingdom of God” (John 3:5).
20. What is Limbo like?
Limbo is a place of happiness in the next world, where there is no pain, sickness or sorrow.
The happiness of heaven can be enjoyed only by a person who has been raised through grace to the level of God. The happiness of Limbo is enjoyed by one who stays on man’s level and is not raised to God’s level.
21. Is it not cruel of God to deprive unbaptized babies of the happiness of heaven?
No, because grace is a pure gift on God’s part, God is not cruel or unjust in not allowing those who die without grace to enter heaven.
“For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD” (Ephesians 2:8). God did not have to raise man to His level. But if He wishes to give this gift to some and not to others, He is not cruel or unjust, since NO ONE ever has a RIGHT to a gift. For example, if a rich man gives a gift of $100 to anyone who has the same birthday he has, no one else can complain.
22. Do unbaptized adults go to Limbo when they die?
No, an adult, who, through his own fault, neglects to be baptized, does not go to Limbo but to hell. Before the coming of Jesus an adult who died with no sin on his soul went to Limbo. When Jesus ascended into heaven, He led all the adults from Limbo into heaven. So, since the coming of Jesus only babies who die without Baptism go to Limbo.